What is a faithless elector?
A faithless elector is a member of the Electoral College who votes for someone other than the candidate they were pledged to support. Most states now have laws that penalize or nullify faithless votes.
When voters cast ballots for a presidential candidate, they are technically choosing a slate of electors - people who will cast the official Electoral College votes in December. These electors are chosen by state parties and are pledged to vote for their party's candidate.
A faithless elector is one who breaks that pledge, voting for a different candidate or abstaining. Historically this was rare but legal. In 2016, seven electors cast faithless votes, the most in any modern election, though the outcome was not affected.
In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in Chiafalo v. Washington that states have the constitutional authority to enforce elector pledges - including by replacing defecting electors or imposing fines. Since that ruling, the faithless elector problem has become far more constrained in states with such laws.
For 2028, the legal landscape is clearer than it was before 2020: in states with elector-pledge laws, a faithless vote can be voided and the elector replaced. The risk of faithless electors changing an election outcome is low, particularly with the post-Chiafalo enforcement framework.
Related questions
How many states have elector-pledge laws?
Has a faithless elector ever changed the outcome of an election?
Related explainers
Each state gets electoral votes equal to its congressional seats. A candidate needs 270 of 538 to win. Voters choose slates of electors who then cast the official votes in December.
If no candidate reaches 270 electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the president, with each state delegation casting one vote. The Senate elects the vice president.
270 out of 538. A candidate must win a majority of electoral votes - at least 270 - to be elected president. If no one reaches 270, the House of Representatives decides.